Frederick neighbors hear pitch for gun center

Ronald Abramson said if the proposal is accepted, SAFE will pay for extensive utility and road improvements and even a hotel. (Lewis Geyer / Longmont Times-Call)

The would-be developer of a Frederick gun training center shot for the sky Thursday night, promising to pay for extensive utility and road improvements and even a hotel if his proposal gets the go-ahead.

"We are talking about a massive multi-million dollar investment," said Ron Abramson, managing partner of the Second Amendment Firearms Experience.

SAFE wants to build a firearms training center for law officers southeast of town, at a site north of Colorado Highway 52 and east of Weld County Road 17. No memberships would be sold, but classes would be available for civilians who passed a background check.

Abramson made his pitch to a room full of neighbors at the Frederick town hall, with most having addresses in either Frederick or nearby Fort Lupton. Not everyone was sold on the plan, particularly some of the nearest neighbors.

"It's a very impressive proposal," one man in the front row told Abramson. "You're an impressive dude. And I couldn't be more opposed to this. ... If it was all indoors, I'd be a lot happier."

But unlike a similar proposal to Firestone in 2013, where audiences were dominated by SAFE's opponents, Thursday's crowd seemed to have a more even mix of yeas and nays. Nicole Grimm, who lives in the nearby Savannah neighborhood, was eager to see the SAFE center come.

"I'd be glad to have you here," she said.

Advertisement

"Right now, our law enforcement community spends millions of dollars a year on training and sends it all out of state," said an off-duty law officer who declined to give his name. "Wouldn't you rather have that spent where you live? I'd like to keep my tax dollars here. ... And it keeps me here to keep you safe."

Most of the activities would be indoors, including move-and-shoot exercises, video simulations and training in deciding when to shoot. There would also be an outdoor shooting area with four bays, at ranges of 25 to 100 yards.

All ammunition would be lead-free and frangible — designed to break down on impact — and would be checked at the door, Abramson said. A material called Acoustiblock would soak up enough sound to keep any shots from disturbing the neighbors, he said, aided by a nearby 100-foot hill, a number of 25-foot-high backstops, and the loud traffic noise of Colo. 52 itself. Tests found the traffic noise anywhere from 60 to 70 decibels, depending on the location.

One woman who lives east of the hill wasn't convinced. Even if the shots were silenced, she noted, the center's popularity would put more cars on the highway.

"You mentioned the traffic noise several times, and now you're talking about hundreds of more cars coming to the area," she said.

Abramson responded that Frederick's comprehensive plan already showed the area as a commercial corridor, while across the highway, Dacono had plans for light industry. With or without SAFE, he said, the traffic was going to increase.

"I apologize to the few homes that are in that corner," Abramson said. "But if you look at the master plan for the area, Highway 52 isn't going to look the same in five to 10 years as it will today."

SAFE is acquiring 144 acres but only plans to use 10 to 12 acres for the training center itself. As the center develops, Abramson said, SAFE would eventually pay to improve Colo. 52 and CR 17 — including wider roads and turn lanes — as well as to extend power, water and sewer lines to the area. (Initially, the development would use a septic system.)

The hotel, planned for a future phase, would give out-of-state law officers somewhere to stay while training and could also be used by the general public.

One neighbor said he was worried about stray rounds; another wasn't convinced that SAFE had strict enough measures to keep lead ammunition out. On the other hand, one man seemed well satisfied that SAFE was taking steps, such as the background checks and close supervision, to keep irresponsible shooters off the range.

"There's a lot of people with CCW's (concealed carry licenses), where I don't want them to touch their weapon," he said earnestly.

SAFE has not yet put in an application to the town. That process could take three to six months, since the town would need to approve an annexation, a zoning change, a conditional use permit, a plat and a site plan.

No incentives have been offered by Frederick. Abramson said he would talk with the town about ways to recover some of the infrastructure costs once other commercial development comes to the area.

He said the revenue to the town from the SAFE center could be significant.

"The taxable income to Frederick, we've established in the $2 million to $4 million range," Abramson said. "If it's successful, it can go up pretty significantly from there."

MacIntyre says the completed project will be best in Pac-12There were bulldozers, hard hats, mud, concrete trucks, blueprints, mud, cranes, lots of noise and, uh, mud, during the last recruiting cycle when Colorado football coach Mike MacIntyre brought recruits to campus. Full Story

MacIntyre says the completed project will be best in Pac-12There were bulldozers, hard hats, mud, concrete trucks, blueprints, mud, cranes, lots of noise and, uh, mud, during the last recruiting cycle when Colorado football coach Mike MacIntyre brought recruits to campus. Full Story

Most people don't play guitar like Grayson Erhard does. That's because most people can't play guitar like he does. The guitarist for Fort Collins' Aspen Hourglass often uses a difficult two-hands-on-the-fretboard technique that Eddie Van Halen first popularized but which players such as Erhard have developed beyond pop-rock vulgarity.
Full Story